The witness beyond the mind and body

MOVE

In the last two years, I went through four surgeries. Each time, my body forced me to stop, adjust, and recover. Outside the hospital, I noticed another struggle—my memory lapses, my quickness to anger, my moments of excitement. These swings showed me how much of life I live pulled either by the body or the mind.

SEE

But in rare moments—just as I was about to burst out in anger, or when deep joy rose—I caught myself. I realized: this is anger happening to me, this is happiness happening to me. For a second, I wasn’t the emotion. I was aware of it. That awareness felt like a third presence. Not mind, not body. A witness.

This is what the Ashtavakra Gita points to in its dialogue with Raja Janak—the self that observes both the mind’s movements and the body’s demands without being bound by either.

REFLECT

Consciousness is not an abstract idea; it is a muscle to practice. Notice the gap between stimulus and your first reaction. Rehearse it in daily life:

• When anger rises, pause—see it, don’t merge with it.
• When joy floods, pause—see it, don’t cling to it.
• When the body aches, pause—see it, don’t collapse into it.

Every such moment strengthens the witness. The mind and body will keep playing their roles. But awareness can remain free, steady, and sensitive.